By James Esuon
Agona Kwanyako (C/R), July 6, GNA- Nana Dr Ampim Darko V, Kyidomhene of Agona Nyakrom Traditional Area has appealed to the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to reconsider its deadline given to community banks to increase their share capital from one million Cedis to five million Cedis by December 31, 2026.
According to Nana Dr Ampim Darko, the extension of the deadline would help shareholders, and other stakeholders to buy more shares to meet the share capital requirement being demanded by BOG.
Nana Dr Ampim Darko, also the chief of Agona Kwanyako made the appeal at a meeting organised by the Agona Community Bank to discuss vital issues concerning the new BOG reforms at Kwanyako in the Agona East District of the Central Region.
He said it took himself and other chiefs to mobilise recourses to raise the share capital for the establishment of Agona Community Bank which had operated for over four decades and had played significant role in raising the living standards of the people of Kwanyako.
All the shareholders and stakeholders, he indicated appreciated the reforms BOG was undertaking to strengthen community banks, but it needed time for emergency durbars and forums to be held to encourage people to purchase more shares to meet BOG’s demand.
The Kyidomhene hinted that it would be catastrophic if the bank did not meet the deadline given by BOG, as the only option would be for all workers of the bank to go home, while market women in and around the catchment area had their small and medium businesses suffocated.
The chief said, aside the possibility of businesses collapsing as a result, the hopes of cocoa farmers who depended on loan facility to support their children’s education would be dashed.
That, notwithstanding, others like commercial transport operators and many more businesses stood to suffer same consequences if care was not taken.
Nana Dr Ampim Darko entreated all shareholders, corporate bodies, companies and citizens of Agona Kwanyako and beyond to get on board and buy more shares to sustain the bank from being merged with another one or scrapped from the books of BOG.
Mr Emmanuel Egyir, chairman of the board of directors of the bank added his voice to the appeal to the BOG to extend the deadline because six months was too short to raise five million Cedis as share capital.
He said the board and management had followed the banking rules and regulations and raised the one million Ghana Cedis share capital earlier required, but not long after, the second demand came and so it needed an extension of time to raise such colossal amount of money.
He said the community bank was ready to raise the money per the assurance received from partners, management, board and chiefs but needed more time.
The board chairman renewed the appeal to the Apex Bank which was the umbrella of Community Banks to intervene and hold more talks with BOG for more time so its cherished customers to sustain their businesses.
Mr Philip LoveMore Amedefu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Agona Community Bank said the bank had already written a ‘Letter of intent” to the BOG last month indicating its readiness to start mobilising resources.
However, Mr Amedefu was optimistic that more prominent people would buy more shares to salvage the bank from collapse.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey /Kenneth Odeng Adade